Rotary engine.



No. 869,397. PATENTED 00T. 29. 1907. L. C. TIPPETT & C. L. REEGE.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED 11:13.11. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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LUGIUS C. TIPPETT AND CHARLES AL. ItEECE, OF ELVERTON, WEST VIRGINIA.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 29, 1907.

Application filed February 11,1907. Serial No. 356829.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, L. (l. rlirru'r'r and t). L. tunen, citizens of the United States, residingI at 'lfllvertoln ill the county of Fayette, State of \\'est Virginia, have illvented certain new and llseflll Improvements ill Rotary Engines; and we do llereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invelltion. such as will enable others skilled ill the art, to which it appertains to malte and llse the same.

This invention relates to rotary engines and nlore particularly to that class including slidingI pistolls.

The primary object of the illvention is to provide all engine of tllis class which, although it is sinlple ill construction, will be thoroughly etlicient ill its action and further to provide a reversible engine.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a construction of rotary engine in which one of the pistons or blades of the series will be receiving at all times the full impact'. of the steam.

Broadly speaking the illventioll consists in a cylinder ill which is rotatably mounted a core provided with slots ill eacll ot' which is slid-ably received a pistoll in the orm of a plate and ill mounting ill the cylinder above the core an arcuate bridge wllicll has its llllder face gradually merging into the illner periphery of the cylinder and which is provided witll a channel ill its said under .face through which the stealn passes. The pistons or plates are normally held against the illller periphery of the cylinder or against the llllder face of the bridge b.y means of steam which is adlllitted through ports formed in circular plates carried by the core, and wllen one plate or piston is abuttillg the under face of the bridge, the next adjacent plate or piston in the series will be ill contact witll the illller pe riphery of the cylinder. It being understood that stealll will pass througll a channel ill the under face of the bridge, over the edge of the tirst named plate or pistoll and will exert substantially the full force of the steam, part of the force however being directed against the [irst named plate.

In the accompanying dra\vings-l `igure ,l is a view in side elevation of illy engine witll one of the cylinder heads and the adjacent plate, carried by the core of the engine, removed. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal scctional view through the engine. Fig. il is a side ele vation of one of the bridges and Fig. Lt is a detailed perspective view of a portion of one of the plates wllicll is carried by the core, and also of a portion of the core, sllowing the manner of admitting stealll beneatll the plates forming thepistons. ltig. 5 is a bottom plan view of one of the bridges.

Referring more speeitically to the drawings tlle nllnleral 5 denotes the cylinder wllicll is provided at each oi'its ends with the usual continuous at [aching tlanges 6, and 7 denotes the cylinder heads which are recessed in their opposing faces and at their edges as at S for the reception of the flanged ends of the cylinder 5. The cylinder heads are provided (Vfentrally with the usllal stulling boxes E) and journaled through the heads and the stnfling boxes is the engine shaft l0.

Mounted upon the engine shaft for rotation therewitll within the cylinder is a core ll which is substantially cylindrical in form and is provided upon its periphery alld a t, its llliddle with an annular tlange l2 wllicll contactswith the innerperipheryof thecylinder. Bolted or otherwise secured upon the ends of the core ll are circular plates .t3 which are provided upon their face which ahuts the cores, directly outwart'lly of the kperipllery tllereof, each with a tlange lfl, it being understood that the ends of the core is received within the inner periplleries of the [langes 'tl llpon the plates I3.

It will be seen that by reason of the flanges l2, the cylinder is divided substantially into 'two cylinders and seated in the inner faces between the tlange l2 and the flanges .llt on the plates i3 are bridges l5, the said bridges being arcuate in form and having their upper faces ittillg snugly against the imler periphery of the cylinder 5 at the upper end thereof and their nnder faces gradually merging into the said inner periphery of the cylinder the purpose of which construction will be presently fully explained.

The eore ll is provided upon opposite sides of the tlange vl2 with radial slots t6, the slots upon one side of the tlange being located at points intermediate those upon the other side of the tlange, and slidably disposed within the slots are the pistons of the engine which are in the form of rectangular plates 17 which have their outer edges rounded as at lS to insure smooth running of the engine. The plates not only work in the slot lG but they also work ill alining slots I9 formed in the (langes 14 of the plates lil and slots 20 forming opposite sides of the tlange l2. It will of course be understood that the plates V1.7 will7 during the rotation of the core Il witllill the cylinder, contact with their rounded edges with the inner periphery of the cylinder and also at times with the under face of their relative arcuate bridges l5.

A steam chest 2l is forllled upon the cylinder 5 at the top tllereof and leading from the steam chest and through the cylinder are ports 22 and 23 which com* municate by means of ports 2i and 25 which run through the upper face of each of the bridges l5, with channels 2G and 27 formed ill the ullder face of each of the bridges, it being understood-of course that the channels 28 alld 27 extend ill opposite directions and that the engine may be run in either direction or in otller words is reversible, by admitting steam tllrough one or the other of the ports 22 and 2S. It will further be observed that when the plates I7 conlprisin g the pistons of the engine are in engagement with the under face of their respective bridges, and the next adjacent plate in the series is in contact with the inner periphery of the cylinder, steam will pass through one or the other of the channels 26 and 27 over the outer edge of the rst named plate, and against the second named plate, this plate being in this manner arranged to receive nearly the entire force of the steam, although it Will be understood that the rst named plate receives a portion of the force of the steam.

In order to help to force the blades outwardly against the under side of the other respective bridges and the inner periphery oi the cylinder, a port 28 leads laterally from each of the ports 24 and 25 in the bridge 15 and communicates successively with the slots 19 formed in the flange 14 of the adjacent plate 13. Communicating with each oi these slots 19 as at 29 is one end of a port 30 which is formed radially in the plate 13 and communicates with the slot 16 formed in the core 11, it being understood that during the rotation of the core within the cylinder, the steam will pass through one of the ports 2S of each bridge and be discharged successively into the slots 19. At this time the plates 17 forming the pistons of the engine will be substantially entirely Within their respective slots 16 and the pressure of the steam upon the inner edges of the plates aiter its passage, through the port 30, will serve to iorce the plates outwardly from their slots.

In order to prevent communication oi steam from one side of the cylinder to the other between the core and the bridges, each of the bridges is provided upon its under side and at its point of intersection with the core, with a recess 31 in which is snugly received a wear block 32 Which is forced into close contactwith the core by means of steam pressure which is admitted through the port 33 leading from the steam chest 21 to the recess.

The exhaust for the engine is located at the bottom of the cylinder 5 and is indicated by the numeral 34, there being ports 35 formed through the underside of the cylinder and branching in such a manner as to communicate with the interior of the cylinder upon opposite sides of the flange 12.

1t is to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described or obvious modiiications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

What is claimed isl. An engine of the class described comprising a cylinder, acore rotatably mounted Within the cylinder, a bridge located within the cylinder and above the core and having ports formed therethrough, a steam chest located upon the cylinder and communicating with the ports, the underside ot' the bridge being merged within the inner periphery of the cylinder and beingl provided with a channel with which the ports communicate, pistons mounted in the core for sliding' movement and for Contact with the inner periphery' ol" the cylinder and the underside of the bridge, and means communicating` with the ports in the bridge for supplying steam to the core beneath the pistons.

2. .in engine ot' the class described comprising a cylinA der, a core mounted lor rotation within the cylinder' and provided with radial slots. pistons slidably seated in the slots, a steam chest located upon the cylinder at the top hereof, an arcuate bridge located within the cylinder and having its upper face lying against the inner periphery of the cylinder at the upper end thereof and having its under face merging with the inner periphery of the cylinder, said bridge being provided in its under face with channels and havingl ports formed therethrough for estabA lis-hing communication between the steam chest and the channels, circular plates carried by the core at each of its ends, said plates being provided with grooves in which the side edges ot' the pistons are received, said grooves being in alinement with the slots in the core, said plate being provided with ports establishing communication between the corresponding grooves and slots, said bridge being provided with ports for communication between its ports and the grooves in the plate, and an exhaust for the cylinder. y

In testimony whereof, we ailix our signature, in presence ol' two witnesses.

LUCIUS C. TIPPET'I. CHARLES L. REECE. Witnesses z SA L. WALKnii, S. W. Si-x'r'rnn. 

